Moa 5 Hop - Winter Ale | Moa Brewing Company

0 characters.
We love reviews! Turn your rating into one with ≥ 150 characters. Awesome. Thanks for the review!

In English, explain why you're giving this rating. Your review must discuss the beer's attributes (look, smell, taste, feel) and your overall impression in order to indicate that you have legitimately tried the beer. Nonconstructive reviews may be removed without notice and action may be taken on your account.

Reviews by Hoppsbabo:

Thanks to a mate for bringing this over from Aus. Comes in a dark green bottle.

A: Amber body with a chunky off-white head.

S: American hops. Mostly getting orange marmalade.

T: Dry, tart and bitter with a not too strong orange marmalade hop profile. No malt backbone whatsoever, and being so sharp it reminds me slightly of Alkaseltzer, although no way near as much as others I've had. Just a bit of oaken woodiness. Hmm, tastes like a single hopped beer. Hard to believe there are five hops in it. Gets better at the end when it's almost room temperature and the yeast has been dumped in. Aspirin bitter aftertaste.

M: Not really fizzy but full of fine effervescence. The sharpness comes from the flavour. It's slightly creamy.

O: Sharp and refreshing, not rich and sustaining, so more suited to a muggy night in the tropics than a snowbound night in a Swiss cabin. One dimensional and kind of boring, but still well within the gamut of decent beer.

More User Reviews:

Enjoyed from the bottle in a pint glass. This unique ale pours a bright orange copper with a beautiful thick white head of foam and superb lacing. Nose of hops, orange zest, and light caramel malts. Flavors show a hop profile that is more likened unto a hop tea....smooth hops with very mild bitterness, light caramel malt background, and light orange and grapefruit notes on the back. Finishes lightly tart and moderately bitter with a smooth yet moderately dry finish. Light carbonation is reminiscent of the English real ales. Very nice.

Pours dark amber with a small, off-white head.
Very malty aroma, with rich bready and caramel notes along with spicy and floral hops.
Flavours don't quite show the same level of complexity, but include some bready malt, pine and spicy hops.
Body seems a bit watery.

On tap at brew on quay in Auckland. Nitro, weird.
Cloudy as crap when it comes ot and then it clears up as the head forms into 2 fingers. Lacing is ridiculous due to nitrogen as well.
Clears onto a nice amber color...
Moas is creamy from the nite again, and surprisingly British bitter hops. A nice pale malt backbone coming through.
mouthfeel is actually a lot like real or cask... again from the nitro, all the carbonation is gone... and it is medium bodied...
taste is a mix of British and "american hops" nice mixture of citrus, pine and the the British super bitter. malty finish, but nothing overly fantastic. but not too bad for my first beer in nz.

a 375ML poured into my Tooheys new glass.
A- poured a orange hue with a lot of head. Half the glass was a big white billowy head. Head lasted a good 4 minutes and left a lot of lacing. A fair amount of carbonation with this.
S- Hops. Lots of hops. A little apple and not all that floral as some pale ales are. Possibly some honey and apple as well.
T and M--Not as hopps as I had thought it might be. Still think there is honey in this as it does have a dry finish and not as cottonmouth as some IPA's are. Still hoppy but not that hoppy. Not that carbonated in the mouth and just kind of there. Nothing real exciting.
D-It's Ok. Nothing special. Might be better than the Squire version of this. Can not say of the Cascade fresh hop version. Could think of a better way to have a winter ale. This would be a good late fall beer. One is enough and that is it. Maybe needs to be a bit bigger in the bitterness.

A: pouts a hazy dark orange with a one inch off white head. leaves substantial lacing down the glass.

S: Smell is lots of hops. Mostly hay and fresh apple aroma with a subtle bitter citrus as well (not a big juicy grapefruit aroma).

T: Bitterness overwhelms the palate, experienced through the tongue but most prominently at the back where there is a strong oily hop bitterness. There is a subtle sweetness if you search for it, and some toastier malt notes through the sip as well.

M: Medium to full body with low carbonation and an oily finish. fuller mouthfeel than the average pale ale.

D: The lack of balance and full mouthfeel makes it a bit less than sessionable but I am a hophead so I enjoy the beer.

Crowd of bubbles on the bottom of the glass when poured, ochre orangey hue with light beige head. Thin, not-very-sticky lacing. Didn't get much head, but others did. The head is a bit fibrous. Can't say I'm mammothly impressed.

A lot of hops on the nose. Hint of bitter citrus, like lemon zest or something, but it's mainly quite a simple hop aroma. Again, not religiously overawed.

A lot of hops on the palate as well (five, maybe), but localised almost entirely within the middle of the palate. Front has a slight sweet and zesty zing and the palate tails off quite comprehensively to leave a lingering trace of what might have been a bitter finish. The palate is contructed a bit amateurishly, I would say, or by mad scientists saying "let's brew an ordinary beer an bombard it with hops for no reason!!!" There is a fair amount of flavour but the body is too thin to hold it up. Mouthfeel is a bit sinky and heavy in spite of this. It seems to want me to bow down and worship this, but I'm just not zealous enough. If I say zebra here, that will be four different z-words in this review. Appropriate, because if this beer were a letter, it would probably be a z.

Had this out of the bottle- green bottle, I might add- Why do breweries still use green bottles? But luckily this one wasn't skunked. This poured a teak brown with a good, thick white head. It smelled of light sweet malts, hops, and some light tropical fruits. It tasted belgiany with some bitterness, candied sugar, malt, light grapefruit and light spice.

Next on the Moa-list is the 5 Hop Winter Ale. Moa Five Hop is a New Zealand take on a traditional English ale that recommends a Tulip glass to drink from, weirdly. A range of hops including Cascade, Pacifica, Motueka, Hallertau and Nelson Sauvin are included... Oh and I have two more Moa's to go in case you were wondering.

Poured from a 375ml bottle into a St Feuillien chalice.

A: It has a cloudy deep amber body with a fine white half centimetre head on top.

S: Sweet caramel malts and fig/pine hops vie for supremacy on the nose. Aromas of fig, caramel, honey, and pine hops resonate clearly and give off a mouth-watering fragrance.

T: Aroma again with the Moa brews is not entirely indicative of flavour. Whereas the fragrance promised an overall sweet affair the flavour is balanced more between bitter/sour with; a large caramel base, pine hops, sour yeast, burnt toffee and that unmistakeable Cascade hop citrus-floral character.

M: Medium bodied with a lovely creamy consistency usually experienced in wheat beers. A stellar mouth-feel.

D: The hops in this are well blended to the point where it is difficult to tell them apart. The price is again prohibitive, shame on you Moa, but they produce some really interesting brews which I will no doubt want to visit again when Bill Gates bequeaths me millions of dollars for being an all-round 'nice guy'.

Food match: Thai would work well, namely a Pad Thai, Char Kway Teow or a Massaman curry. Pizza would also be an excellent choice (bro!) Kiwi joke aside.

Im always a little hesitant when it comes to anything from these guys as had bad experiences in the past anyways it pours a hazed amber hue which leaves a long lasting three finger head and clingy lacing everywhere,the smell is toffee malts,caramel,herbal hops,gooseberries and blackberries,the mouthfeel is medium bodied and a tad syrupy but nicely carbonated with tastes of herbal earthy hops,blackberries,caramel malts,sticky toffee and finished with a bittersweet mix of hops and fruit salad and overall its nice and one of the better samples from these guys cheers.

Nice beer. Served with a lovely, foamy, frothy, thick, creamy, cream colored head that slowly settles and some lace. Color is a clear orange honey amber. Aroma is malt, hop, musk, rye. Flavor is similar to nose, fairly dry, grain, slight tang. Body & carbonation are excellent. Finish is like flavor, on the short side, and very drinkable. I'd have more.

Comes in a classy cork bottle, with a label so dark you almost need a flashlight to read. Label on the side states 'beer for olympians' - why don't more beers have this label? These athletes need beer to celebrate their medals, or beer to console themselves if they don't quite reach their expectations. Lets see if Moa 5 hop can do that for them

BB date of nov 2015.

A - I've opted to include some of the sediment in the bottle into the tulip glass, so its slightly hazy brown, pours a fine 3cm thick white head that seems to last forever. Enticing.

S - The floral whiff of hops is there, but there is a biscuit malt aroma that dominates. Tinge of papaya. Overall, the aroma is slightly subdued.

T - Bready malt flavours, followed by some hoppy bitterness. The variety in the hop bitterness is intriguing - one second stale, the next with a slightly spicy note, then a sweet orange burst. Bitterness is more pronounced the warmer the beer gets.

M - lightly carbonated, smooth, with a dry finish. Like the label suggests, much nicer in these cooler months.

O - not sure where to put this beer. I think the '5 hops' and winter ale labels, as well as the corked bottle, through me off a bit. The hops are subdued - treated more of an english bitter in a good ol' pint glass at room temperature, it goes down great and I'm keen for another and another and another. Maybe this is the reason why the kiwis aren't winning more olympic golds!?

Tan coloured with a reeddish tinge.
Sudsy soft looking greyish head.
It is certainly hoppy both on the nose and the palate without much fruitiness other than wafts of canteloupe at the back.
This is more than an ale for winter , as it is eminently drinkable.
It wants for a malt body just to round off the palate .The bitterness is at a level that makes quantity consumption rather easy